WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-34

About:the stories of the world this week 21 August to 27 August, trying to kill a brain, a drying-up Biblical lake, education still being denied, a country loosens-up to the LGBT, chess and tennis, a Dancing Queen, and a music diva sings again.

Everywhere

The Brain

The Russia-Ukraine war reached a grim six-month anniversary, on 24 August, and it’s a dark-tunnel conflict where we are unable to see any light at the end. I think, a lot depends on Russia switching-on a light and declaring some kind of pyrrhic victory.

In a dangerous incident in Ukraine, the World narrowly avoided a ‘radiation disaster’ when the last regular power line supplying electricity to Ukraine’s Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was temporarily cut-off, by shelling. Luckily the diesel generators kicked-in automatically, as programmed, and the Station Staff reacted quickly after the blackout to prevent any damages. What if something went amiss, or if the Plant remains disconnected from the Ukraine Grid? That’s as close as one can get to the next nuclear disaster.

Meanwhile, somebody is trying to get to the ‘brain’ of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This week, the daughter of Russian ultranationalist and political commentator Alexander Dugin – dubbed ‘Putin’s brain’ – died when the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving was ripped apart by a powerful explosion – a car bomb – on the outskirts of Moscow.

Dugin is known for developing an extreme rightwing view of Russia’s place in the world. He is described as a Russian Fascist who has helped shape Putin’s expansionist foreign policy. He is the high priest of a virulent brand of Russian nationalism that has become increasingly influential in Russia: from fringe ideologue to the leader of a prominent strand of thinking that sees Russia at the heart of a ‘Eurasian Empire’ defying Western decadence.

Dugin is the spiritual founder of the term ‘the Russian World’, and helped revive the expression ‘Novorossiya’ or New Russia, which included the territories of parts of Ukraine, before the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. Well, that’s the brain… thinking.

Looks like the bomb was intended to kill the brain, but with the daughter taking the wheel in a last minute brain-wave swap, the brain was saved. And of course Russia was quick to blame Ukraine as the brain behind!

We Need Education

There is another continuing, hard-to-come-to-terms issue, which is almost a year – over 340 days- old: teenage girls in Afghanistan have been kept away from School by the Taliban, simply because of their gender. And this is denial of a basic human right, which almost every other country on the Planet takes for granted.

How do we bring an unflinching Taliban to book?

Oh Jesus!

Lakes are drying up everywhere and it’s the turn of the Sea of Galilee in Northern Israel, which is actually a fresh water lake. It has sustained life for millennia and is Biblically famous as the sea, in and around, where many of Jesus Christ’s miracles were performed. The lake irrigates vineyards and local farms that grow everything from green vegetables to wheat and tangerines. Its archeology, hot springs, and hiking trails bring tourism and livelihoods for local communities.

The climate crisis is causing huge fluctuations in the lake’s water levels. Now it happens to be fairly full, but just five years ago, it hit a record low.

But the Israeli government thinks it has found a solution – its own kind of miracle: It plans to pump water from the Mediterranean Sea, desalinate it, and send it across the country to top up the lake when needed. That should help keep the faith!

It’s OK to be Gay in Singapore, but…

Singapore is repealing a law that bans gay sex, effectively making it legal to be homosexual in the conservative City-State.

When the British colonized Singapore in the 1930s, they introduced penal code 377A, making it a crime for men to have sex with each other. And even after colonial rule ended, Singapore opted to keep the law in place. Men who had gay sex faced up to two years in prison.

But now, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is thinking ‘out with the old and in with the new’. And announced the decision on national TV, which comes after years of fierce debate on the issue.

LGBT activists in Singapore have hailed the move as ‘a win for humanity’. And Singapore is the latest place in Asia to move on LGBT rights, after India, Taiwan, and Thailand.

However, there is a catch, Lee said that though the government will be abolishing the decades-old law, gay marriage is not being made legal, at this point of time. And that the Government will amend the country’s constitution to reinforce the definition of marriage as only between a man and a woman. It’s unclear when the change will come into effect, and when Gay-Marriages will also be decriminalised.

That’s equivocating at its best?

Sports

India just hosted the Chess Olympiad and coming on the wings of the Tournament, one of its youngest Grand Masters, 17 yrs old Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu defeated World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen for the 3rd time this year, in the FTX Crypto Cup. Previously he check-mated the Champion at the Chessable Masters in May, and Airthings Masters in February.

The kid is growing-up for sure. And Chess is returning to the country of its birth!

This week, 21-time Grand Slam Champion and this year’s Wimbledon Title winner Novak Djokovic announced his withdrawal from the upcoming US Open Tennis Tournament, which plays from 29 August to 11 September.

Djokovic has remained unvaccinated against Covid-19 throughout the pandemic, and current United States (US) Rules stipulate that any non-US citizen must be fully vaccinated against the virus in order to receive a visa and enter the country. The Tournament Director said, “Novak is a great champion and it is very unfortunate that he will be unable to compete at the 2022 US Open, as he is unable to enter the country due to the federal government’s vaccination policy for non-US citizens. We look forward to welcoming Novak back at the 2023 US Open”.

Previously, he was unable to compete at The Indian Wells and The Miami Open in March due to the same US travel regulations. Djokovic was deported from Australia in January this year, preventing his participation in the Australian Open, due to his refusal to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Djokovic’s withdrawal has taken place after the start of the qualifiers, hence a ‘lucky loser’ will be included in the draw. The loser better make best of the chance!

Please Yourself

Dancing Queen

In the year 2019, on 10 December, when Sanna Marin, 34, of Finland’s Social Democratic Party was sworn in as Prime Minster, she became the World’s youngest serving State leader and youngest Prime Minister in Finland’s history. Suddenly, the world seemed to grow younger! Old head on young shoulders was what danced in the mind.

You don’t grow old on becoming a Prime Minister (PM), do you? The young do what they do. And last week videos of the young Sanna shaking a leg and dancing while partying with friends in a private setting, leaked to the media. And the Opposition was quick to shake a finger and accuse Sanna Marin for being un-PM like and bringing disrespect to the Office of the PM.

Responding to these accusations, Marin acknowledged partying ‘in a boisterous way’ but said she was angry that the footage was leaked to the media. She said alcohol was consumed but that she was not aware of any drug use at the party.

The world heard and women across the world posted videos on social media of themselves dancing, to support Sanna Marin’s dance show.

She agreed to take a drug test after senior opposition politicians argued there was a ‘shadow of doubt’ hanging over her, despite her insistence that she had never taken drugs and was not compromised beyond drinking some alcohol.

This week, Marin’s office announced the negative results of the drug test, taken after an opposition MP called on her to get tested: no drugs had been found in her system.

Just when the Dance Floor lights were switched off came another accusation. During a party hosted by the PM in her official residence in Helsinki, Kesaranta, after the Ruisrock Music Festival in July, topless photos of guests were leaked. In it, two well-known women influencers can be seen kissing each other covering up their bare chests with an official-looking sign reading ‘Finland’: the photo was taken in the downstairs toilets used by guests.

Sanna Marin again apologised for the topless photo of guests and admitted “the picture is not appropriate, we had sauna, swam and spent time together,” Marin said. “That kind of a picture should not have been taken but otherwise, nothing extraordinary happened at the get-together,” she added.

Trouble never comes alone, does it? It brings its brothers, sisters, and friends, and family along. I’m sure Sanna Marin would get wiser. And what’s wrong with her dance moves?

Britney, Spears Ahead

This week Singer Britney Spears released her first new music since being freed from a conservatorship that controlled almost every aspect of her life for about thirteen years.

‘Hold Me Closer’ – a duet with Sir Elton John – hit music streaming sites marking Spears’ return to music after a six-year hiatus. The song also incorporates three of Sir Elton John’s classic hits.

Fresh out of her conservatorship, Britney Spears, 40, married Personal Fitness Trainer and Actor, Sam Asghari, 28, on 9 June 2022. Her ex-husband, Jason Alexander, tried to crash the event. This is technically her third wedding and second marriage. Britney was married to Jason Alexander in 2004 in Las Vegas for just 55 hours, and then married Kevin Federline that same year. Britney and Kevin have two children, boys Sean and Jayden, from their marriage.

Great to listen and see Britney do it again.

More crashing stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Dance with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-29 to 33

About: the stories of the world, this week – weeks between 17 July and 20 August bundled-up as one.

I had been on a work and writing break travelling to London during the last week of July & early August to spent quality time with my son living and working in the United Kingdom. And this is an attempt to bring my weekly World Inthavaaram ‘up-to-week’.

Everywhere

School Burns, and a Flight

While I was eyeing the Anna Airport at Chennai to lift me off to London’s Heathrow, I had to drive through Kaniyamoor, near Chinnasalem in Kallakurichi, Tamil Nadu. On 13 July 22, a 17 years old girl, studying in Class 12 at the Sakthi Matriculation School Group-The ECR International CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) School, was found dead in the hostel premises. The girl boarding in a hostel room on the third floor was suspected to have died by suicide by jumping to the ground from her floor, late in the night. The fallen girl was spotted by the school watchman, who then rushed her to the Kallakurichi Government Hospital, but was declared brought dead. The girl is said to have left behind a suicide note saying that she was driven to the decision due to torture and harassment by two teachers, who pushed her to study harder!

The cause of death mentioned in the autopsy report was multiple injuries and haemorrhage. However, the girl’s family contested the finding saying that her death could not be suicide. In a complaint to police, the family said that she had sustained injuries prior to her death and was sexually assaulted; they held the school management responsible and refused to take possession of the body for a burial until it was investigated. This led to a hot, simmering situation.

Then events took a violent turn, when hundreds of people- mostly youngsters and juveniles – suddenly appeared like ants from an anthill. They swarmed into the school and began damaging property, burning school buses, and setting fire to class rooms and documents. The local police was found wanting, sleeping on the job, and when they woke up, the School Campus was found transformed into a war zone. A few arrests followed. And the case is under investigation. Who started the fire?

After a non-stop over 10 hours flight, on landing in the United Kingdom, I found London’s Heathrow Airport charming; Immigration was a breeze – lightening fast – compared to the long queues on departure and arrival at Chennai. I had read about the horrific chaos at Heathrow and was prepared for the worst, but was pleasantly surprised with the silk-like smoothness in Terminal 5.

A New President and Vice President for India

India commissioned a new President, its 15th, and celebrated the elevation of Droupadi Murmu, 64, as the first Indian President from a tribal community -one of the lowest rungs of Indian society – on 25 July 22. She took over from outgoing President, Ram Nath Kovind.

President Droupadi Murmu is the first person from the State of Odisha to hold the Office and the first President, to be born after Independence. That’s a lot of firsts! I am not aware of any other major nation with an indigenous woman leader. The world should bow in respect!

Meanwhile, a new Vice President of India – its 14th – Jagdeep Dhankhar, 71, hailing from the Sate of Rajasthan was inaugurated on 11 August 2022. He took over from outgoing Vice-President, Venkaiah Naidu.

Jagdeep Dhankhar was formerly a Governor of the ‘tough unruly State’ of West Bengal and also a Supreme Court Lawyer. He will need all these skills and much more: to manage and control debates as Chairman of the Upper House of Parliament – The Rajya Sabha-through which nearly all Bills, made by the Government in the Lower House, pass through before becoming Law.

Both, the President and the Vice President are candidates put-up by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and they won the elections on a cool jog, leaving the Opposition at the starting-blocks, with their tails firmly between their legs.

Monkeypox

Over two weeks ago, The World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a public health emergency, which means that without a coordinated international response, this could escalate into a pandemic. How did we get here?

Monkeypox has been around since at least the 1970s. But it has largely stayed confined to Central and West Africa. That all changed in the past months, when cases started popping up around the world. There are now more than 20,000 recorded cases in over 70 countries. And together 10 countries account for 89% of the world’s cases, including the United States – 5175 cases, Spain -4298, Germany -2677, the United Kingdom-2546, France-1955, Brazil-1369, the Netherlands-879, Canada-803, Portugal-633, and Italy-479.

We are just beginning to heave a sigh of relief on the slowly, but surely, diminishing COVID19 pandemic and now this one is poking us!

Straight to Taiwan

While all this was happening, the water in the Taiwan Strait reached boiling point and many fish felt out of water. The United States (US) House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a daring visit to Taiwan despite China trying its darnedest in preventing the visit. But, why?

Taiwan is a self-governing democracy, which China claims as its own territory. Nancy Pelosi is the highest-ranking US political person to visit Taiwan since 1997. China blew hot and cold, throwing all kinds of temper tantrums and warnings, including moving its Navy Fleet near to Taiwan, conducting war-time exercises and military drills in the Strait between China and Taiwan. It even test-firing missiles from mainland China. For a moment we thought of another ‘Russia like special operation in Ukraine’ developing in Taiwan. But then, Nancy did it, and in time was followed by another US Delegation for business-as-usual. Last heard was China’s endless growl.

Thambi’s Chess Olympiad

India hosted the 44th Chess Olympiad at Chennai between 28 July and 9 August 2022, with Thambi (younger brother – dhoti & shawl clad with a chess-horse head) as a mascot at the Convention Centre of Four Points by Sheraton in Mahabalipuram, near Chennai. The Opening and Closing Ceremony was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai: they showcased the fabulous, rich and expansive culture of India played on a Chess Board, and the performances were like none before in a Chess Olympiad. And this is the first Chess Olympiad ever to take place in India.

Initially, the State Government of Tamil Nadu ran a parochial black & white campaign with only the State’s Chief Minister’s photograph on the posters, but was forced by the Courts to include that of the Prime Minister (and President). Well, that was obvious, wonder how they missed it, wearing dark glasses indoors has an effect on sight?

The Chess Olympiad is organised by the Federation International Des Eches (FIDE) or the World Chess Federation, which consists of Open and Women’s Tournaments as well as several events designed to promote the game of Chess. It was originally planned to be held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia; later moved to Moscow and scheduled in August 2020. But was yet again postponed due to COVID19, and finally relocated to Chennai following the start of the Russian-Ukraine War.

FIDE has been in the business of organising World Chess Championships since 1948.

A total of 1737 participants moved their pieces in the Open and 800 in the Women’s Events. Registered teams were 188 from 186 nations in the Open and 162 from 160 nations in the Women’s.

Oliwia Kiolbasa of Poland was adjudged the best individual player in the Women’s Event. And David Howell of England was best individual player in the Open Event.

Commonwealth Games: Wealth of Medals for India

India is fast sprinting to becoming a great sporting nation, spike marks of which were visible in the 22nd Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK, held between 28 July and 8 August 2022, earning a ton of medals. 72 countries participated in the Games.

Australia led the medal rush winning 67 Gold, 57 Silver, and 54 Bronze, Totalling 178. India came fourth with 22 Gold, 16 Silver, and 23 Bronze totalling 61 medals, behind England (176), and Canada (92).

India won its first ever medal in the Lawn Bowls event, after the Women’s Fours team won gold besides many other amazing wins. And finished-off as the best nation in Badminton, Table Tennis, Wrestling, and Weightlifting, and second best in Boxing.

’Think thrice’ before wrestling with India?

Satanic Versus: the Return

Salman Rushdie the Author of the much banned novel, Satanic Verses, had the Satan upon him when Hadi Matar, 24, a Shiite Muslim American of Lebanese descent, stabbed him multiple times in the neck and torso, while beginning to deliver a lecture in New York, United States. He survived to live another day, and will probably write more verses in the years to come.

Indian-born Salman Rushdie spent years in hiding after Iran, under Ayatollah Khomeini, offered a bounty – issued a fatwa- to kill him over his novel ‘The Satanic Verses’, which it termed as blasphemous against Islam and insulting the sacred beliefs of Muslims.

The book follows the tale of two Indian Muslim actors who magically survive a plane hijacking. As they fall from the Sky one of them transforms into Archangel Gabriel while the other morphs into the devil. The book explores dislocation, nature of good and evil, doubt, and the loss of religious faith.

Novelists, Academics, and Journalists who dared criticise or question Islamic beliefs have faced similar treats or condemnation from Islamic religious heads. They are either murdered, arrested, flogged or forced into hiding or exile.

India, under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was the first country to ban the Satanic Verses just nine days after it was published. Those were the hey-days of misadventures by Rajiv Gandhi when he had a brute majority in Parliament and when he overturned a Supreme Court ruling which ordered maintenance to be paid to a divorced Muslim woman, Shah Bano.

India @ 75

India celebrated its 75th Independence Day with the Tricolour (Trianga) flag flying all across the country like never before. People enthusiastically hoisted the national flag atop their homes, business places, and offices. Others flew the flag in their social media profile pictures. And suddenly the flag was visible everywhere. What does the Indian flag mean?

The top most colour Saffron means strength and courage, renunciation and disinterestedness; the middle White means peace and truth, light to guide; and the bottom Green means fertility, growth, and auspiciousness of the land. The central Dharma Chakra, Ashok Chakra, with 24 spokes means the Law of Dharma. The wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change, which India must not resist and move forward. Life in movement, death is stagnation. It also signifies the Wheel of Duty: 24 religious paths of duty. E.g., the first is Chasity – live a simple life, 2nd is Health…

When India obtained its independence from British Colonial Rule it consisted of about 562 princely states, each with its own army, police, stamps, and currency. It is well known that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel- called the Iron-Man of India, as India’s first Home Minister was singularly responsible for bringing all these States together to unite as the Republic of India.

Behind the iron-man, there is one man, almost forgotten and an unsung Architect of the India integration story, Vappala Pangunni Menon (V P Menon) who dextrously stitched India together, along with Patel. Menon was Vallabhbhai Patel’s chosen Secretary who he personally requested to be allocated to him from the then Civil Services that the British had established and left behind.

Previously, before Independence, Menon had put together a plan for transfer of power to India and Pakistan, furiously drafting it on his typewriter working on a punishing schedule. His plan was the chosen one. And after independence, Menon was hoping to retire into the sunset, but was called to rise to action by Patel.

Vallabhbhai Patel and Menon spent an insane amount of time travelling to the various Indian Kingdoms goading them to fall in line and integrate with India by signing the Instrumentation of Accession Act. They used a carrot-and-stick approach spending over two tortuous years engaging in negotiations with the eccentric princely rulers. While Patel wore the tough face, Menon was the lubricant, mixing subtlety, charm, and even ruthlessness. In about 2 years, 500 princely states dissolved and re-formed as 14 new States of India. The rest, they say, is History.

V P Menon, who had not gone to college, began life as a worker in a gold mine and rose to the top of India’s Civil Service over a period of 37 years. He began his career in the Imperial Bureaucracy as typist, stenographer, and clerk. Menon served as the Constitutional Advisor to the last three Viceroys during British Rule in India, and he was the only Indian in Mountbatten’s inner team. And being in rooms with different personalities and big egos taught him about negotiation and drafting. He learnt, absorbed, and adapted. He famously said, “You can only learn if you start at the bottom”.

After 1947 he faded away from the limelight and received no official honours for the stupendous work he had done. He died aged 75 leaving behind three children from two marriages. His funeral was small and private.

How many of us remember V P Menon? The Statue of Unity misses a companion! With so many statues coming-up all over India why not one for Menon?

The United Kingdom – Now

The race to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has narrowed down to former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and former Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, with the former reported to be a step ahead, on votes. Meanwhile, the outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson is keeping the Conservative Party Seat warm. The new Prime Minister is expected to be announced on 5 September 2022, when the Tories vote for a new Leader.

I’m back!

More colourful stories, sewn together from all over the world, coming-up in the weeks ahead. Live with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-28

About: the world this week, 10 July to 16 July 2022. People burst in Sri Lanka, herd moves in Italy, Tennis, Lions of India’s Emblem, and the father of India’s internet.

Everywhere

People Burst in Sri Lanka

Over the past few weeks we read about ‘cloud-bursts’, when heavily pregnant clouds could no longer hold, and suddenly delivered an ‘avalanche of the elements’ causing stirring changes in our lives, on Earth. How about ‘people bursts’, for a change?

What the quitting United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister said aptly of his country was heard by a Herd in far away Sri Lanka: “A Herd moves by instinct and when a Herd moves, it moves”.

Late last week and growing into this week we witnessed a fascinating spectacle of a real ‘people burst’ in Sri Lanka revolting against the abysmal management of the country’s affairs. People suddenly appeared like ants from nowhere swarmed and overran the Presidential Palace and later, the Prime Minister’s residence: the crowds were so large that any security personnel, police, or other forces were simply overwhelmed, and ‘instinctively’ stepped aside to allow the herd to have its way.

The storming people did not do much damage, other than invade and occupy. Potential Olympic swimmers were seen effortlessly doing back-flip dives in the Presidential Swimming Pool; future Chefs began cooking food in the Kitchens for the people to fill their starving stomachs, and others ran over the Presidential Gymnasium, testing the push & pulls, to stay-fit for the coming weeks, months, and years. They sounded the bugle in unison, “We will not leave until the President and the Prime Minister quit”.

Well, both offered to quit and the President cleverly used the chaos to escape to Maldives and then to Singapore, while the Prime Minister got himself promoted to ‘Acting President’, which now needs to be made legal.

Later, safe in Singapore after a round of shopping in Changi Airport, and after defying calls for his resignation, Gotabaya Rajapaksa finally resigned as President of Sri Lanka through an email to the Speaker, who then made the official announcement. The Ex-President ran fearing being arrested by the new regime, whenever it takes over. Guilt written all over?

Singapore generally does not grant requests for asylum and it remains to be seen where the Ex-President would flee next.

Why wouldn’t the President stay back, face the music, accept mistakes made, and drum-up solutions?

The Herd Moves to Italy

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi offered to resign after his populist coalition partner in the Government, Five Star, withdrew its support in a major confidence vote.

The crisis was triggered when Five Star leader Giuseppe Conte refused to back the government’s Euro 23 Billion package of economic aid for families and businesses, arguing Draghi was not doing enough to tackle the cost of living crisis.

Even though the government comfortably won the vote of confidence in the Senate with the help of other parties, the man dubbed ‘Super Mario’ had warned repeatedly that without Five Star’s support the government could not continue. He said the pact of trust that had sustained the unity government had gone.

Mario Draghi, a former head of the European Central Bank has been leading a unity government since February 2021.

However, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who had appointed Draghi to lead Italy’s post-Covid pandemic recovery, and save the country from endemic instability, refused to accept his resignation. He has now called on Draghi to address Parliament to provide a clear picture of the political situation. And once the fog lifts, he might stay on – see Five Stars!

Mario Draghi had improved Italy’s sphere of influence and overall was very well-appreciated for the work he was doing. In a recent survey he was among the top three leaders of the world, ranked 3rd on the list of most popular leaders in the world in 2022, after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador- second, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – first.

But then this sums it up: “Italian politics is always so hard to understand, we just forgot about it while Draghi was in power,” said an Italian.

Looks like Italy has a President who stays the course and tries to keep a capable Prime Minister governing in Government.

Tennis in Wimbledon

While clouds and people bursted elsewhere there was a volley of tennis balls bursting all over Wimbledon in the United Kingdom. No herds here, only the rogue elements single-handedly crushing through victories.

Serbian Novak Djokovic beat Greek Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon 2022 Men’s Singles Final with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 to win his 7th Wimbledon and his fourth successive title.

In a new role as the quiet man of Centre Court, the relentless Djokovic fended off a noisy Kyrgios in an absorbing Wimbledon final in the broiling heat of the All England Club, with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius.

Djokovic showed he had no better way to celebrate his wedding anniversary with wife Jelena; to move on from the emotional turbulence of being deported from Melbourne before this January’s Australian Open; and from the disappointment of losing to Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals of the French Open.

Astonishingly, UK’s Andy Murray remains the last man to beat Djokovic on Centre Court, in the 2013 final.

“He’s a bit of a God,” sad the losing Kyrgios.

Meanwhile, in the Women’s Finals, a new Wonder Women, Elena Rybakina, all of 23 years, stepped up when it mattered most to overcome world No.2, Tunisian Ons Jabeur, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the Wimbledon final last Saturday. And become the first Kazakhstani player to clinch a Grand Slam Singles Title, and the youngest champion since Petra Kvitova in 2011.

Elena Rybakina said she was incredibly nervous, but she never showed it, and Wimbledon watchers never noticed – eyes were on the balls!

Lions in India

This week India’s Prime Minister unveiled the National Emblem – huge at 6.5 metres (m) height – on top of the upcoming new Parliament Building: a perfect replica of the original Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath except that its size is about 3 times the original. A priest said a hymn at the inauguration, which translates as, “May earth provide for us, bless us, and illuminate our minds”.

India’s Opposition Parties were quick to roar that the Lions looked fierce, showed teeth, were too aggressive, and were not the least stately. And that the Government was attempting to change the Sate Emblem to suit ‘its own designs’.

India’s National Emblem is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Sarnath, an ancient sculpture dating back to 280 BCE, of Emperor King Ashoka The Great. The original Lion Capital commissioned by King Ashoka, during the reign of the Mauryan Empire is now on show in a Museum in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh. It is a magnificent 2.15 m tall sculpture – including the base- of four Asiatic Lions standing back-to-back representing power, courage, confidence, and pride; facing the four cardinal directions, North, South, East, and West. The Lions have an open-mouth roaring stance announcing Buddha’s message of Dharma to the world. They are mounted on a base or an abacus with a frieze of sculptures of a lion, a horse, a bull, and an elephant, each separated by wheels or dharma chakras (eternal wheels of law). The four animals are the Guardians of the four directions: the Lion of the North, the Elephant of the East, the Horse of the South, and the Bull of the West. The abacus in turn is mounted on an inverted lotus, the universal symbol of Buddhism.

On 26 January 1950, a representation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka placed above the motto, Satyameva Jayate, ‘Truth Alone Triumphs’, written in Devanagari script and extracted from the Mundaka Upanishad – the closing part of the holy Hindu Vedas – was adopted as the State Emblem of India.

The National Emblem version used all over India was, at that time, sketched by a 21 years old art student, Dinanath Bhargava, of Visva Bharathi, Shantiniketan, who was pursuing a three-year diploma in fine arts. The story goes that for a month, every day, Dinanath travelled the 100 km distance between Shantiniketan and Kolkata only to study the behaviour and mannerisms of Asiatic Lions at the Kolkata Zoo to make a realistic representation. He was handpicked for the job by the then Principal of Kala Bhavan Shantiniketan, Nandlal Bose – a noted artist and painter.

I have no doubt that the National Emblem atop the new Parliament looks exactly like the original Lion Capital atop the Ashokan Pillar- but to a lager scale. The noise being made about it being different is much ado about nothing.

Angles matter, mind it!

A Hero: Father of India’s Second Independence Day

The Internet has become such a sine quo non in our lives that we simply take it for granted, almost like the air we breathe. And fume and burst when it goes down. Step back a moment and ask, who brought the internet to India?

The father of the internet in India is the almost forgotten – how dare we – Brijendra Kumar (B K) Syngal. As the head of the then Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited VSNL, Syngal launched the first ever internet in India in the five cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Pune, on 15 August 1995. With this launch, India became one of the first countries in Asia to have a commercial internet service.

But, the euphoria of India’s second Independence Day quickly vanished and turned into a nightmare. Dial-up access, using modems, and bad connectivity, meant delayed connections, busy signals, dropped calls, and ‘an assured disconnection’ every few minutes, all of which shackled the system. Internet tariff charges were astronomical, at best obscene as the pornography a select percentage chose to use the internet for.

Syngal got the signal and said “Quite simply, the charges are too much, the quality of service is poor,” And what Syngal did next was audacious: he called in the media and admitted: “I goofed up. I goofed up big time”. He admitted that his market intelligence was wrong, and that the service was plagued by serious technical problems and that it was a bit of an amateurish venture to start without studying the infrastructure backbone. Syngal then asked India to give him 10 weeks to fix things. “I can assure you that at the end of 10 weeks, possibly before that, you will have a system that India will be proud of,” he said.

Syngal and his team got cracking, created a bank of servers, rang the phone department to improve connectivity, pushed modem makers to ensure quality devices, moved from copper to fibre-based cables, and slashed tariffs by half, and more. He took about eight weeks to get the new system up and running, and stable. And indeed, he did it.

India needed access to physical undersea cable connection to power the internet for which the asking price was more than USD 100 million for a share of the cable. Syngal was told this kind of money was out of question as the country had only a few weeks worth of foreign exchange left. Hence, he negotiated with the cable consortium, and won an agreement to stagger payments. He also successfully secured forex loans. A deal was signed in 1991, and connectivity began three years later. And the rest is history.

R K Syngal was the son of a civil servant father and homemaker mother. The family migrated to India in 1947, during partition. He studied Electronics & Communication Engineering at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Kharagpur.

Later on, under the chairmanship of Syngal, VSNL was founded in 1986 as a Government of India owned telecommunications service provider of the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications. VSNL was completely acquired by the Tata Group and renamed as Tata Communications on 13 February 2008.

In 1998, Syngal and his team joined Reliance where he became Chairman of Reliance Infocomm. He remained with Reliance remained until his resignation in 2001.

Late last week, on 9 July 2022, R K Syngal died aged 82. He came to be known as ‘the father of India’s internet’. It’s awfully sad that India has not recognised him the way it should – unless I’m missing something. How many of us know what he did? Time to go undersea and learn our history to ride on the shoulders of great unknown pioneers before us.

More roaring stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Stay connected with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-27

About: the world this week, 3July to 9 July 2022. Shoot, Kill, Quit, Fight, Sing, Sprint, Pray, and Eat.

Everywhere

This week started with a bang…and ended with a bang, literally.

Denmark’s capital Copenhagen witnessed a mindless shooting spree at a Shopping Centre, which shocked Danes to the core. Three people were killed and four injured. The deadly attack began at the Field’s Shopping Mall – a multi-storey building and one of the biggest in Denmark: it has about 140 shops and restaurants and is located on the outskirts of Copenhagen.

Police arrested the suspect, an ethnic Dane, thirteen minutes after being alerted to the attack. The killer had mental health issues; there is no indication of a terror motive. And the shooting appears to be a lone wolf act – with no other conspirators.

English singer, songwriter, and Actor, Harry Edward Styles was to perform in a concert nearby. And it was cancelled at short notice. Fans were impressed with the manner police and organisers ensured young concertgoers were safely carted away, by way of informing parents and providing a police escort to the nearest safe train station.

The last time Denmark saw a major terror event was in 2015 when two people were killed and six police officers injured during an attack on a a cultural centre and a Synagogue in Copenhagen. The gunman was later killed in a shoot out.

Denmark has some of the strictest gun laws in Europe with licences to own firearms usually available for hunting or sport shooting, following background checks, and with almost a total ban on automatic weapons. Carrying a firearm in public is strictly prohibited.

Now, to the cowboys of the West.

The shootings in the United States of America (US) is only shooting up, and there seems to be no sign of it loosing its spirit, at the moment.

This week, six people were killed in a shooting in downtown Highland Park, Illinois during the 4th July Independence Day Parade. Parade-goers were enjoying a sunny parade along Central Avenue when a gunman began firing indiscriminately and randomly from the roof-top of a Business building, which he had scaled using a ladder.

The suspect, Robert E Crimo III, was spotted by a North Chicago Officer who attempted a traffic stop. Crimo led the Officers to a brief chase before being stopped and taken into custody.

This marks at least the 308th mass shooting in the US this year and the carnage adds to an already bloody American Spring and Summer.

Just look at this statistic: Denmark had 3 mass shootings in the last 28 years. The US had 17 mass shootings in the last 5 days. The difference and what needs to be done is crystal clear. Got it America?

In another finding, The US found itself to be the serial killer capital of the World. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) complied information about 4743 known serial killers worldwide between 1900 and 2016 and discovered that 3204 of them were from the US. Is that why guns are required? Is America setting a bloody infectious example?

Shots in Japan

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, 67, is Japan’s longest serving Prime Minister until he resigned in 2020. He was known for his ‘Abenomics’ policy to lift Japan’s economy – the world’s third biggest – out of deflation and wanting a more prominent role for Japan’s military, to counter growing threats from North Korea and a more assertive China. He was responsible for Japan winning the bid to host the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, cherishing a wish to preside over the Games. He even appeared as the Nintendo video game character Mario during the Olympic handover at Rio 2016.

During his tenure as PM, he considered it a failure in being unable to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution, which prohibits the country from using force to resolve international disputes.

Late this week, Shinzo Abe was in the western city of Nara to make a campaign speech ahead of this Sunday’s upper house elections. While giving the speech he was shot twice from behind, by a man using what looked like a shotgun or a home-made gun . The first shot appears to have missed, but the second shot hit Abe in the back. Security Personnel then quickly overpowered and detained the shooter, who made no attempt to run. Abe was in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest and airlifted to the Nara City Hospital where he succumbed and died due to the shooting. A suspect, an Army Veteran, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, of Nara City was arrested.

Abe’s shooting has shocked Japan: gun violence is rare and Japan has one of the lowest rates of gun crime in the world due to its extremely strict gun control laws.

The last time a current or former Japanese PM was shot was 90 years ago. There has never been a political assassination in Japan since the 1930’s, The only shootings ever heard of in Japan involve the Yakuza – Japan’s famously violent organised crime gangs – arguing over territory. Even those were rare. But most people never come in to contact with the Yakuza. Even they shy away from guns because the penalties for illegal possession are just not worth it.

There were 10 gun incidents last year, leaving one person dead and four wounded. In the year 2014 six gun deaths were reported, and the number rarely exceeds 10, in a country of 126 million people. In 2018, Japan only reported nine deaths from firearms, compared with 39,740 that year in the USA.

Under Japan’s firearms laws, the only guns permitted for sale are shotguns and air rifles. Handguns are outlawed. But getting them is a long and complicated process.

Japan has close to ‘zero-tolerance’ of gun ownership – an approach that contributes to its extremely low rate of gun crime.

Later, a video of the shooting showed that Shinzo Abe’s Security did a horrible job of protecting him when compared to the tight heavy security in other parts of the world. Understandable, given Japan’s safe record? Maybe there is a lesson here.

This week’s assassination of Shinzo Abe could change Japan forever.

Herd moves: Losing the Best Job in the World

This week Boris Johnson resigned as leader of his Conservative Party and is on the way out as Prime Minister (PM) of the United Kingdom (UK).

He has been in a quagmire of scandal after scandal, in recent months. The list includes everything from ‘Partygate’, surviving a no-confidence vote, to corruption allegations to the latest ‘Pincher’ scandal. It was acknowledged that Johnson knew about sexual misconduct allegations against a fellow Conservative Party member before appointing him to a senior position. But he says he ‘forgot’ about it. A ‘wind rush’ of ministers resigned since Tuesday and nudged him to do the same. And after initial resistance Johnson has agreed to step down. In his exit speech he said a Herd moves by instinct and when the Herd moves, it moves. And he was sure ‘Darwin’s evolution’ would find the next PM, and that he is sad to leave the Best Job In the World.

Boris Johnson squandered one of the strongest political positions held by a PM of the UK, in record time. The authoritative mandate gained after winning an eighty seat majority in December 2019 dissipated at extraordinary speed as he dealt with a series of scandals with a ham-fisted mixture of denial, disorganisation, and even outright lying.

Johnson secured the Election Victory riding on the back of the ’Get Brexit Done’ pledge. After securing an exit from the European Union (EU), he struggled with the coronavirus pandemic – got it himself- was late in imposing the first lockdown in March 2020, and thereafter went too fast in loosening restrictions the following Christmas, which he was forced to cancel at the eleventh hour.

But UK’s PM was ultimately undone not by policy disagreements but by character failings. He presided over a lax culture at Downing Street during the pandemic, in which he, advisers and officials attended a string of booze-filled parties (imbibing the spirits of Scotland & Ireland?) while people all over the country were locked down at home.

I reckon, the seriousness of governance evaporated and it could not be condensed into a workable drink, any longer. Mind the herd!

Just Begun

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, continued his ranting and warned that Russia has barely started its campaign in Ukraine and dared the west to try to defeat it on the battlefield. “Everyone should know that, by and large, we haven’t started anything yet in earnest,” Putin said during a speech to Russian lawmakers this week. He added, “The further it goes, the harder it will be, for them to negotiate with us”.

Methinks, this is the beginning of the end, and Ukraine will stay the course, gradually ‘managing’ the bullying of Russia.

India’s Upper House

The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally called the Council of States, is the Upper House of the bicameral Parliament of India – the Lower House or the House of the People, being the Lok Sabha.

While people of India directly vote to elect the Members of Parliament (MP) of the Lok Sabha, the MP’s of the Rajya Sabha are indirectly elected by the legislatures of the States and Union territories. Further, for the Rajya Sabha, the President of India nominates 12 members who have special domain knowledge or practical experience in art, literature, science, and social service. This is on the advice of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister – the Leader of the majority/ruling party in the Lok Sabha. The intent being to enrich Parliamentary proceedings, which otherwise may be hijacked by political party musings.

The nominated members have a six-year term and the Rajya Sabha is a permanent House, not subject to dissolution. However, one-third members of Rajya Sabha retire after every second year: opening the gates for elections and nominations.

The Rajya Sabha being a representation of the States of India serves to protect the rights of States. And all laws passed by the Lok Sabha – affecting the states -have to be approved by a two—thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha.

This year the President of India dipping into his 12 MP rights, nominated legendary music director Ilaiyaraaja, from Tamil Nadu State, celebrated athlete P T Usha, from Kerala, blockbuster film screenwriter V Vijayendra Prasad from Andhra Pradesh, and spiritual leader Veerendra Heggade from Karnataka.

Rajayya Gnanathesikan, R Gananthesikan, went by the name of ‘Rajaiya’ on joining school, Raaja on learning music from his Master, and became Ilaiyaraaja after the stupendous success of his virgin music scores in the Tamil movie ‘Annakkili’(Parrot). Ilaiyaraaja then went on to become famous as a film composer, conductor, singer and lyricist, working predominantly in Tamil cinema. Ilayaraja is credited with introducing western music concepts in South Indian music and synthesising western and Indian music instruments. He has composed more than 7,000 songs, provided film scores for more than 1,400 movies and performed in more than 20,000 concerts.

Ilaiyaraaja is also called ‘Isaignani’ (musical genius) and is often referred to as ‘Maestro’, by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London, amongst others.

The journey from Gnanathesikan to Isaignani has indeed been an awfully long one. Names changed along with the heavenly music!

Pilavullakandi Thekkeraparambil Usha, P T Usha the sprinter, and India’s most famous woman track & field athlete, known as the Payyoli Express and the Golden Girl, has won over 100 medals at national and international events, including four golds at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games. She hit the headlines with her performance at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, where she reached the final but missed out on a medal by a 1/100th of a second. And a billion India hearts skipped a beat. She was born in Payyoli, Kozhikode district of Kerala hence the Payyoli Express tag.

In 1986 Seoul Asian Games, India won 5 Gold Medals where she alone won 4 Gold Medals in 200 metres (m), 400m, 400m hurdles & 4×400 relay and 1 Silver Medal in 100m. She is the first Indian woman to reach the final of an Olympic event.

P T Usha is married to V Srinivasan an inspector with the Central Industrial Security Force. The couple have a son, Ujjwal Srinivasan, who is a Doctor and holds an International Olympic Committee Diploma in Sports Medicine.

She is currently the committee head of Indian Talent Organization, which conducts National level talent Olympiad examinations in schools across India. And runs the Usha School of Athletics (USHA) at Koyilandi, near Kozhikode.

Koduri Vishwa Vijayendra Prasad,V Vijayendra Prasad is a film screenwriter and director known for his works primarily in Telugu cinema, in addition to Kannada, Tamil, and Hindi cinema. He has done more than twenty-five films as a screenwriter, most of which were commercially successful.

He is best known for screenwriting blockbusters such as ‘RRR’, the ‘Baahubali’ series and ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ in addition to Manikarnika: the Queen of Jhansi, Magadheera, and Mersal (Tamil). His film-maker son, S S Rajamouli directed the Baahubali series of movies, to wide acclaim.

Veerendra Heggade is a Jain Philanthropist and the hereditary administrator or Dharmadhikari of the Dharmasthala Temple. He has been at the forefront of outstanding community service, social work, and communal harmony, doing great work in health, education, and culture.

He succeeded his father as Dharmadhikari at the age of nineteen in October 1968, the 21st in his line, of the Pergade Dynasty belonging to the Digambara Jain group. He administers the temple and its properties, which are held in a Trust, for the benefit of devotees and worshippers.

Veerendra Heggade married Hemavathi, in a match arranged by their parents and the couple have an only child, a daughter, Shraddha. His heir and the person to succeed him will be his younger brother, Harshendra – as traditionally, sons get the charge.

Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade has been conducting a Free Mass Marriage every year in Shri Kshethra Dharmasthala since 1972. Over 10,000 couples have been married under this scheme.

The Annapoorna kitchen at the Lord Manjunatheshwara temple at Dharmasthala is one among the five biggest kitchens in India, which feeds thousands of people. The others big kitchens of the country are Shirdi, Chennai’s Taj kitchen, main kitchen of Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) at Noida, Uttar Pradesh, and Akshaya Patra Foundation’s kitchen at Hubli, Karnataka.

Lots to eat, with more stories coming out of my small Kitchen in the weeks ahead. Stay safe, stay with the herd, and move with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-26

About: the world this week, 26 June to 2 July 2022, lots of legal stuff- brace yourselves for the supreme, a killing in India, fuel less in Sri Lanka, scorching hot in Japan, and dining underground.

Everywhere

Russia is cold, unrelenting, and pushing its forces awfully hard ever since it illegally invaded Ukraine four months ago. They have eliminated most of Ukrainian defences in the Luhansk region, consolidated control of a belt of territory in the south and have blunted the effectiveness of Ukrainian attack drones. And now, they have complete control of the Luhansk region, after Ukrainian forces finally gave up the city of Severodonetsk.

This week Russia showed a murderous streak when it fired a missile into a mall in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk. More than 1,000 people were inside at that time and the number of victims is unknown – could be deadly.

It’s worrisome that Russia appears to be gaining ground in this war, but Ukraine has a clear, genuine motive to win. And win it must. Remember Snake Island, captured by Russia, at the start of the war? It’s now back with Ukraine!

Courts Rule…and Rule: Supreme, in the US, and India

Late last week the Supreme Court of the United States (US), in a 5-4 ruling, struck down the ‘Roe versus Wade’ decision that federally protected a woman’s right to have an abortion. It leaves abortion rights to be determined at the State level. And several Republican Party-led states have already moved to enact statewide bans.

In 1973, in the landmark ‘Roe versus Wade’ case, the Supreme Court had ruled that unduly restrictive state of regulation of abortion is unconstitutional and that criminalising abortion, in most instances, violated a woman’s constitutional right to privacy, which it found to be implicit in the liberty guarantee of the due process clause of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.

It was a stinging decision that left the US gasping for breath, obliterating a woman’s right to choose. Hard to imagine that a country known for its freedom can suddenly cage women’s rights and become so cruel.

US President Joe Biden wasn’t happy with the Supreme Court’s decision and vowed to find a way out. He inherited a Supreme Court, which benches were packed with conservative judges during the previous Presidency, the results of which are there for all to see.

A woman has a fundamental right to choose what is best for her body over religious diktats and interpretations. People are entitled to hold their own convictions on the issue, but they should not dictate or rob another from making their own decisions. This is a regressive decision moving woman’s rights backwards and kills the freedom enjoyed over near about half a century.

I sometimes wonder whether, like an active Gun Lobby in the US, could there be a slippery Condom Lobby too?

In another ruling, the US Supreme Court struck down a New York gun law, enacted more than a century ago that placed restrictions on carrying a concealed handgun outside the home. In a 6-3 majority it ruled that the Constitution protects the right to carry a gun outside the home. That’s a ‘Yes’ to guns. Now to some kind of a ‘No’…

However, this week in what seems a sincere attempt in controlling the reckless gun-fire, one of the most significant US gun control bills in nearly 30 years was signed into law by President Joe Biden. It imposes tougher background checks on buyers younger than 21 years and encourages states to remove guns from people considered a threat. The reforms include: better funding for mental health programs and school security upgrades. It also closes the so-called ‘boyfriend loophole’ by banning those convicted of domestic abuse from owning a gun – not just those who are married to their victims or live with them.

Keeping-up with the supreme, not to be left behind, India’s Supreme Court (SC) upheld and threw-out a ‘devoid of merit attempt’ to challenge the clean chit given by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to 64 people, including Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi – who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat- in the 2002 Gujarat Godhra Riots. The Courts said that the plea to challenge was an attempt ‘to keep the pot boiling for ulterior design’ when there was no credible evidence to suggest that the then Chief Minister or his administration was involved.

The protest petition was filed by Zakia Jafri, wife of a Member of Parliament, Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the riots.

The SC held there was no reason to question the merits of the SIT, which was specifically set-up by the SC itself, and that her submissions were far-fetched and sought to undermine the integrity of the SIT. “On such false claims the structure of a larger criminal conspiracy at the highest level has been erected . The same stands collapsed like a house of cards following the thorough investigation by the SIT. Those involved in such abuse need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with the law” it said.

This comes as a huge relief to PM Modi who was accused and hounded by the media and the opposition for near about 16 years as being complicit or turning the other eye, or failing to do enough to prevent or bring the riots under control.

It all started on 27 February 2002 when 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya, by the Sabarmathi Express was attacked by a Muslim mob and their Coach, S-6 of the train, set ablaze at the Godhra Station, where it had stopped. All 59 passengers in the Coach including 27 women and 10 children were burnt to death.

In what is described as a spontaneous outbreak, violence broke-out out in Gujarat State, where hundreds of Muslims and Hindus were killed triggering one of the worst post-independence riots in India.

Returning to the verdict, the SC said the co-petitoner and activist Teesta Setalvad exploited the emotions of petitioner Zakia Jafri. And antecedents of Teesta Setalvad need to be reckoned with and also because she has been vindictively persecuting this dispute for ulterior motives.

That hint was enough, I reckon, as the Gujarat Place immediately swung into action and arrested Teesta Setalvad from her Mumbai home, to dig deeper into the case while the earth is pliant and soft. The charges were criminal conspiracy, forgery, and placing false evidence in court to frame innocent people.

Also arrested and ‘put in the dock’ were former State Director General of Police Sreekumar, and former IPS Office Sanjiv Bhatt -partners in perjury crime!

Following the stream of arresting action this week, Mohammad Zubair co-founder of fact checking website called Alt News was arrested. Earlier he had called out the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Leader and spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s remarks against the Prophet, only after he had deleted or edited portions- equally whiplashing against Hinduism, which trigged Nupur Sharma in the first place, and ended in her being sacked. A well-laid trap? And it’s minefield out there on religious provocation.

Mohammad Zubair is alleged to have routinely put tweets and posts, which were anti-Hindu, spawned Hindu-hatred, and mocked Hindu gods. He was arrested for blasphemy, a law he advocated until very recently. Most of these tweets were deleted once Nupur Sharma was shown the door by her party for hate-mongering.

Investigations are on to ascertain ‘the real’.

A Horrific Killing in India

This week, on a Tuesday afternoon, Kanhaiya Lal, a Hindu Tailor was working in his shop in the busy Dhan Mandi area of Udaipur in India’s Rajasthan State when two Muslim men walked-in, posing as customers. While Kanhaiya Lal was taking measurements on one of them, the other brandished a cleaver and tried to behead him, failing which he slit his throat, killing the Tailor (Police later said the head was not severed or beheaded). The other person took a video recording the incident on his phone and posted it on Social Media. In the video they were seen gloating over the murder and issued similar threats to India’s PM Narendra Modi, brandishing their cleavers. All of this was apparently over Kanhaiya Lal sharing a post in support of Nupur Sharma and thereby insulting Islam-they claimed, in their rant.

Previously, Kanhaiya Lal had been arrested by the Police, for the same post and let-out on bail with a warning. Since then, he had been receiving death threats, which he had reported to the Police. And appears to have been taken lightly by them.

After the killing, the Police, for once, were quick on their heels, identified and caught the killers, Gos Mohammad and Riyaz Akhtari, residents of Surajpole, Udaipur. They were trying to escape from the area when the Police locked onto them.

The macabre incident sparked outrage across the Country and India is treating it as a terror incident, and investigations are on a roll.

The Trial and punishment should be swift and effective so that it acts a deterrent to such uncivilised brutal acts in the name of religion: an unforgivable act of Islamist radicalisation and terrorism. I’m sure this does not represent the sane, mainstream Islam.

Late in the week, an Indian Supreme Court Order stood out as egregious when it appeared to blame Nupur Sharma for the killing. ‘Loose tongue…sets the country on fire…’ were some remarks made, which brought and outcry of disgust and calls for withdrawing the comments made. Noises of impeachment and reforming the judiciary could be heard.

Should not the Supreme set an example?

Clueless and Fuel Less in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is in talks with Lenders over a bailout deal to rejuvenate its economy and climb out of its worst economic crisis in decades: an economy crushed and hit hard by the pandemic, rising energy prices, populist tax cuts, among many other reasons.

Meanwhile, it continues to struggle, and this week, Sri Lanka suspended sales of fuel for non-essential vehicles. For the next two weeks, only buses, trains, and vehicles used for medical services and transporting food will be allowed to fuel-up. Schools in urban areas have shut and officials have told the country’s 22 million residents to work from home.

Gosh! Has this ‘work from home’ thing become a solution to every crisis?

Scorching Hot in Japan

While Sri Lanka battles it out with shortage of food, fuel and electricity, Japan is asking some 37 million people living in and around Tokyo to use less electricity and ration air-conditioning even amid a record heat wave that has seen temperatures in some parts of the country cross 40 degrees Celsius. The government urged citizens in the capital to turn off lights and power switches for three hours in the afternoon and to use air-conditioning ‘appropriately’; as the country struggles with growing electricity shortages.

Japan’s power supply has been tight since March, when an earthquake in the northeast forced some nuclear power plants to suspend operations. Demand is also at its highest since 2011, when Japan was hit by the strongest earthquake in its recorded history. The mismatch between supply and demand is becoming ‘severe’. But with recent temperatures soaring to dangerous levels, rationing electricity will not be easy.

This week Tokyo experienced scorching heat for a fourth successive day after setting records for the month of June at the weekend.

Temperatures in the capital soared over 35 degrees Celsius, while the city of Isesaki northwest of Tokyo hit 40.2 degrees Celsius – the country’s highest in June since record keeping began in 1875.

Dining Underground

This week Scientists discovered a carnivorous plant that grows prey-trapping contraptions underground, feeding of subterranean creatures such as worms, larvae, ants, mites, and beetles.

The newly found species of pitcher plant was unearthed in the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. Like other pitcher plants, ‘Nepenthes pudica’ has modified leaves, known as pitfall traps or pitchers, that its prey fall into before being eaten – dissolved. One species is so large it can trap rats.

This plant places its – about 11 cm – long pitchers underground, where they are formed in cavities or directly in the soil, and trap animals living underground. No other species of pitcher plant, known to science, catches its prey in such a place.

More hot and cold stories coming up in the weeks ahead. Stay cool and above ground with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-25

About: the world this week, 19 June to 25 June 2022; edge-of-seat, pot-boiler politics in India’s States; Afghanistan shakes; Election results in France, Colombia, and Israel; and a new President-in-the-works for India.

Everywhere

During this week, the International Day of Yoga was celebrated with gusto, with the ‘all walks of life celebrities’ piously seated on a Yoga mat, twisting, turning, and bending backwards and forwards, showing-off their precious moves, highlighting the benefits of the wonderful practice. However, in the Maldives, Islamist protesters stormed and disrupted a yoga event organised by the Indian High Commission in the capital Male. The protesters also brandished placards proclaiming that yoga was against the tenets of Islam. That’s twisting things too far!

Meanwhile, a friend whose Company supplied the T-Shirts to the United Nations for the yoga twists & turns, snaked into my Home to invite me to his son’s Wedding. A fortune-teller had warned that if his son is not cooly ‘married off’ within the year he may face the heat of a marriage draught lasting at least six years – women melting away-blame it on climate change. He googled, quickly latched onto a bride, got his son to nod in agreement – the son was bewildered to discover that she was a childhood bench mate- and fixed the Wedding for August this year. ‘Fortune’ favours the brave!

Moving over: in France, President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party lost majority in Parliament, two months after he fought hard to comeback as President. Now, he has to find a way to create alliances and constantly scratch-up the support of other parties to get work done. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen and former opponent called the election results a ‘seismic event, while Macron’s own party called it a ‘democratic shock.’

On Sunday, Colombia elected its first leftist president, Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerrilla movement. He won more than 50% of the vote, beating a prominent businessman. Gustavo has promised to stop new oil exploration and to raise taxes on the rich. His running mate, Francia Marquez, also snagged a first. An environmental activist and single mother, she will serve as the country’s first black vice-president.

Meanwhile, Israel may get a new Prime Minister as the country is headed toward its fifth election in four years after announcing plans to dissolve parliament. Israel has a way with its Elections!

In Ukraine the fighting continues in the eastern part and the situation is described as extremely difficult. Russia has been using its superior artillery strength to make gains. On the ‘good news side’ the war-torn country has been approved as a European Union (EU) Candidate at a EU Leaders’ summit in Brussels. Ukraine applied days after the Russian invasion, and the process has since moved at a record speed. Ukraine’s President Zelensky called it a ‘unique and historic moment’. Candidate status is the first official step towards EU membership – but it can take many years to join and there’s no guarantee of success. So near yet so far?

Late this week in the United States of America (USA) its Supreme Court overturned the 50 years old Roe versus Wade Case that legalised abortion rights, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion in the USA. This is a death blow to woman’s freedom. And a huge step backwards. More on this, next week.

Afghanistan Shakes

The horror in Afghanistan refuses to abate. The Taliban shook it like never before and then nature too joined the shake.

A powerful earthquake measuring 6.2 ‘moment magnitude’ killed about a 1000 people and left thousands injured in Afghanistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces. The earthquake’s tremors were felt over 500 kilometers by people across Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.

Mountainous Afghanistan and the larger region of South Asia along the Hindu Kush mountains has long been vulnerable to devastating earthquakes with a similar incident, but of lesser damage, happening in 2015.

India’s Maharashtra State: A Quiver-full of Arrows

In the Maharashtra State Assembly Elections held in the year 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 122 seats in the 288 seated Assembly and came to power entering into a relationship with the Shiv Sena (SHS), which itself won 63 seats. Previously, the highest the BJP could muster in Maharashtra was 46 seats. BJP’s handsome leader Devendra Fadnavis became Chief Minister, enjoyed a ‘relationship honeymoon’, and went on to successfully complete his term.

Building on the snug togetherness, the BJP & SHS decided to take their relationship to the next level – love each other, mind the distance, and probably get married in the next Legislative Assembly Election, which was held on 21 October 2019. After a 61.4% turnout in the election, the ruling BJP and SHS pre-poll alliance won a majority with 106 and 55 seats respectively, on Wedding Day. However, the first night (and day) probably wasn’t good as the just-married couple started squabbling over dowry. The SHS said it was promised an equal share – Chief Ministership for half the term – which was quickly denied by the New Delhi uncles of the BJP saying nothing of the sort was agreed upon. A political drama then kicked-in. The SHS walked-out of the marriage and the BJP, desperately hunted for a coy-bride in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to fill the gap, and found one. This barely lasted three days-could not be consummated-and the new Bride was disowned by her parents – the NCP. The coy Bride returned to her parent’s home and the SHS groomed themselves for a live-in relationship with the NCP’s 53 and the Congress Party’s 44 members, forming the government called the Maha Vikas Aghadi Government (MVA) with their support.

The Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray went on to become Chief Minister without himself having contested the Elections, but later qualified, by becoming a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC). That’s the first part of the story. Now, the second part, where a wronged and ditched groom gets his revenge?

This week the Shiv Sena live-in began to fail with MLAs (Member of Legislative Assembly) of the SHS probably realising they are living in sin. A major chunk lead by Eknath Shinde – nobody heard of him much, before this – broke away, probably emboldened by the come-hither, stunning looks of the BJP. Nobody knows for sure. They caught a flight to the State of Gujarat and from there, a flood of MLA’s – near about 40 of them – flew to Guwahati in the State of Assam, which was suffering one of its worst ever floods caused by incessant rain. This is obviously to prevent ‘political poaching’ – a hunting game-theory Indian Politicians specialise in.

That’s a rebellion in a party founded and run by family members where the family is left behind and the members have stolen the party, possibly beating the Anti-Defection Law which says tow-thirds breaking away is acceptable.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray vacated his official Bungalow and moved to his family home, suitcases, et all. The Government is back on the drawing board.The third and probably the final part of the story is expected to unfold in the upcoming week. The Shiv Sena’s logo is a bow and arrow and Party name itself means, ‘Shivaji’s Army’. They will need all of that, and much more, to stay relevant.

… And Tamilnadu: Two Leaves Leaving

Not to be left behind and catching the whiff of things, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which is the main Opposition Party in the Southern State of Tamilnadu, created its own drama.

Ever since the death of its charismatic leader Jayalalithaa, the AIADMK has been working in a ‘dual sim-phone’ mode – Dual Leadership – with Ottakarathevar Panneerselvam (OPS) and Edappadi Karuppa Palanisamy (EPS) being joint Leaders, kind of, the two leaves of the AIADMK. Both of them have been Chief Ministers for periods of time.

EPS successfully steered the AIADMK as the recent Chief Minister of Tamilnadu – did a fine job – in completing his term, ended up losing in the next Elections, but with a respectable number of seats, reinforcing his leadership.

Over a year in the opposition, the dual leadership wasn’t working well, especially with the BJP’s Tamilnadu President Annamalai stealing the narrative, firing on all guns, and working magic in Tamilnadu as if they were the real Opposition Party. With the AIADMK party cadre wanting a single leadership, to be quick on the draw, they resolved to meet to discuss resolutions made and iron-out bumps in a General Council meeting this week. But it turned into a mid-summer night’s dream. The Courts stepped-in saying they must stick to resolutions agreed upon before the Meeting; all resolutions were rejected; OPS and his supporters walked out; and the Meeting was put-off to another day with new resolutions to kick-in including that of Single Leadership.

No one knows what happens next. Must be looking at direct flights from Chennai to Guwahati to get flooded with new ideas.

Indian politics works in mysterious ways and the edge-of-the-seat suspense, twists & turns can be intriguing, mind-boggling and awfully thrilling. Airplanes and 5-star Hotels gain lots of revenue, the media drives into top gear, and the State gets paid its Goods & Service Taxes.

The New Would-be President of India

Over the past weeks the media was pregnant with speculation on who would be India’s ruling Party BJP’s choice for the President of India, given that the current President, Ram Nath Kovind’s-He did a magnificent job of being President- term expires on 24 July 2022.

This week the choice was made. Droupadi Murmu, 64, a former Governor of the State of Jharkhand was chosen and will be the first person from the State of Odisha, and the first tribal woman leader to occupy the presidential post if elected. She will also be the first President, to be born after Independence. That’s a lot of firsts!

The Opposition had earlier announced Yashwant Sinha – a former Finance Minister in the BJP and one who deserted the BJP ranks – as its candidate The poll is slated for July 18. And the numbers are stacked in favour of the BJP.

Droupadi Murmu, is a tribal woman born in the Santhal community of the remote Mayurbhanj District, Odisha. Her father and grandfather were Village Heads under the Panchayat Raj System. She started out a teacher before entering politics after earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Ramdev Women’s College in Bhubaneswar. She worked as a junior assistant in the Irrigation & Power Department for 4 years before becoming a teacher at Sri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre, Rairangpur.

Then she decided to swing into the world of Indian politics. And began her political career as a Councillor in Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat in 1997, and as Vice-President of the BJP’s Schedule Tribes Morcha. She became MLA, twice on the BJP ticket, from Rairangpur in Mayurbhanj in 2000 and 2004. She rose through the proverbial ranks to become a minister in the BJD (Biju Janata Dal)-BJP Alliance Government in 2000 handling the portfolios of Commerce & Transport and Fisheries & Animal Husbandry. And became the Governor of Jharkhand in 2015. Murmu could hold on to her assembly seat in 2004 even when the BJD had snapped ties with the BJP weeks ahead of the state elections, which were swept by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s BJD party.

In her personal life she has seen much tragedy, losing her husband Shyam Charan Murmu to a cardiac arrest in 2014, and one of two sons in 2009, in mysterious circumstances, and the second in a road accident in 2013. She has a daughter, Itishri Murmu who works in a Bank and is married to Ganesh Hembram – a rugby player. There is a young grand-daughter in her arms.

The would-be President has struggled every millimetre of her way to get here, has seen personal tragedy- inheritance of loss, fought depression, and has managed all of them with Himalayan resolve. I’m sure she will make a wonderful President. The best is yet to come!

More native, bow & arrow leaving stories coming up in the weeks ahead. Stay safe with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-24

About: the world this week, 12 June to 18 June 2022, the put-in war, a Queen holds on to the throne, Monkeys poke respect, Whisky Wars, Army recruitment, trains go private, drinking tea in the neighbourhood, a day off on an island, and murder in the kitchen.

Everywhere

The Fighting Rages

Russia is now in command of most of the city of Severodonetsk following a month of intense fighting. Taking Severodonetsk and the nearby city of Lysychansk would give Russia control of the entire Luhansk region of Ukraine, which seems to be the only achievable goal for Russia at the moment. Of course, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin still makes the usual noises of being forced to start the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine. And that it was aimed at protecting ‘his people’ – the people of Ukraine’s Donbas – and then repeating his unfounded accusation that ‘his people’ were being subject to genocide. Iron-cold rationalisation at its steely best?

Meanwhile, this week, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and Romania visited Ukraine’s capital Kyiv in a show of solidarity with President Zelensky. They also visited the devastated town of Irpin, near Kyiv, which for several weeks was occupied by Russia, to see first hand the brutal effects of the war. The visit culminated with the leaders supporting Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union (EU)- a big vote of confidence for Ukraine.

A few weeks ago, France’s President stirred the proverbial hornet’s nest, when he said it was vital that Russia is not humiliated over its invasion, suggesting that Russia should have a way out of what he called a ‘fundamental error’ (by Russia).

Later in the week, the European Commission backed Ukraine’s bid to be given candidacy status to join the EU. Candidacy is a significant step as the entire process may take years to fruity into membership.

Then at the end of the week, Britain’s Prime Minister must have felt left-out, as he made a surprise dash to Ukraine – his second visit – to show support and see the handsome, bulging muscles of Ukraine’s President.

The Queen’s Gambit

This week Britain’s 96 years old Queen Elizabeth II sprinted ahead of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej to become the world’s second-longest reigning monarch in history. Up ahead on the curve is France’s King Louis XIV who holds the record for the longest reigning monarch with a 72 year and 110 day reign from 1643 until 1715. He had a head start, becoming King at age 4. Thailand’s King reigned for 70 years and 126 days from 1927 to 2016.

Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne occurred on 6 February 1952, following the death of her father, King George VI. The coronation took place on 2 June 1953 – after the official mourning period – in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey.

The Queen became the longest serving British monarch in September 2015, surpassing her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria. Now, the Queen has been sitting tight on the throne for over 70 years and 127 days.

I wish England’s Queen makes it past France’s King. Wonder what gambit the Queen has in her royal mind?

Respecting Monkeys

Monkeys can finally breathe easy: they could have been planning to go on a stone-throwing protest strike across continents against defaming their name. Never mind the Indian bulldozer, they legally live in the forests paying their oxygen and carbon-dioxide taxes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) heard, says it is working with experts to come up with a new name for monkeypox. This comes after many scientists wrote last week about the ‘urgent need for a non-discriminatory and non-stigmatising’ name for the virus and the money pox disease it causes. Continued reference to the virus as African is both inaccurate and discriminatory, they said. Some 1,600 cases of the disease have been recorded globally in recent weeks.

One new name that’s been suggested by scientists is hMPXV, but we’ll need to wait to hear what the WHO thinks of that.

What next? The chickens may protest against chickenpox…and the mighty spade itself, against being called a dead-pan spade?

Whisky Wars

Hans Island is a desolate, kidney shaped piece of rock in the Arctic, measuring 1290 metres(m) by 1199 m. It is located in the about 35 km wide Nares Strait between the northernmost point of Canada and Greenland, part of Denmark’s kingdom. The uninhabited Island has no mineral resources nor much else of interest unless you are visiting a lucky seabird siting on the rock.

Both Canada and Greenland sit 18 km away from Hans Island, allowing them to claim the rock under international law.

But in the year 1984 Canada made a bold stake for ownership when it landed troops on the rock. It swiftly planted its maple leaf flag and buried a bottle of Canadian whisky, before returning home to a country now larger to the tune of over one square kilometre.

In the same year, Denmark’s minister of Greenland affairs couldn’t let such a provocation stand. Weeks later he set off for Hans Island, where he replaced the offending Canadian flag with a Danish flag and a bottle of Copenhagen’s finest schnapps. But he went one step further than the Canadians had, proudly leaving a note that read: ‘Welcome to Danish Island’.

And so the ‘Whisky Wars’ commenced.

Over the following 49 years, dozens of Canadians and Danes took part in the ritual and successive expeditions from Ottawa and Copenhagen have braved icy conditions to plant bottles of alcohol on the tiny 1.2 square kilometre (sq.km) rock.

Finally, in 2018, the countries decided to establish a joint working group to resolve the dispute, ending their decades-long ‘agree to disagree’ policy. And decided to settle the dispute at a later date.

This week, Denmark and Canada finally struck a deal to settle almost 50 years of good-natured squabbling over the ownership of the island: officials have agreed to divide the outpost roughly in half.

The deal will be signed once both countries grant parliamentary approval and will see the island split along a naturally occurring cleft on the rocky outcrop, according to a deal published by the Danish foreign ministry.

Once signed off, Canada and Denmark would have established the world’s longest maritime border at 3,882 km.

I hope it becomes a rock solid agreement: cheers to that!

Agnipath: The Tour of Duty

This week India announced a revolutionary, transformational, and far-reaching ‘Agnipath Scheme’ of recruiting ‘boys and girls’ between the ages of 17.5 and 23 years for a four-year stint in the Armed Forces. They will be given military training, based on the Force’s requirements.

About 46,000 soldiers, sailors, and airmen will be enrolled between September and October this year on an all-India, all-class basis. After four years, 25% of the ‘Agniveers’- as they will be called – will be absorbed in the regular cadre and the rest released to pursue a non-military civilian life. During the four years in the Armed Forces, Agniveers will be paid a respectable stipend and associated perks. And those leaving will be provided with skill certificates and an accrued Corpus Fund to pursue other careers. India’s youth are given a chance for both long and short duration military service and to serve the nation at the highest level. The regular military recruitment scheme will drill on undisturbed.

The objective is to lower the age of the Armed Forces- with induction of youth, lower the pension budget, and provide a means of selecting and retaining the very best in the Defence Forces.

My thoughts: The Armed Forces training will bring in much-needed discipline, which is seriously lacking in India- and make men and women out of our boys and girls. It is the nearest to compulsory military service and being a four-year stint it would provide youngsters an opportunity to decide what they want to do with their lives besides an honour to serve the nation. And, once released into society they will be a silent force of protection for themselves and the communities they live in. The best part would be, say in an Ukraine-Russia situation we would have enough Agniveers around who could take up the charge if needed. The scheme has been introduced by the three Service Chiefs – Army, Navy, and Airforce after solid deliberation: I’m sure they always have the nation’s best interests in the cross-hairs. I trust them. Lets embrace the path of Agnipath.

India’s First Private Train

In November 2021, India came up with an idea called ‘Bharat Gaurav’ (India’s Pride) of allowing private players to operate trains belonging to the Government’s Indian Railways in a theme-based tourism circuit: with places, routes, stops, and tariffs, among other things, being entirely at the discretion of the Private Operator. The intent is to provide people in India and visiting foreign tourists a means of exploring the country’s rich cultural heritage and historical places in a comfortable well-managed set-up.

The trains can be leased for a period of two years with interiors refurbishment, housekeeping, catering, security, ticket booking services, etc., being the responsibility of the Private Operator. And policing work will be done by private security personnel in coordination with the existing Railway Protection Force. A Train Captain and a Train Doctor will also be on board along with a radio jockey manning a sound system, to keep the tourists in ‘loud spirits’.

This week the first ever private train under the Bharat Gaurav Scheme, operating between Coimbatore North Station in Tamilnadu and the Holy Town of Shirdi in Maharashtra was flagged off with stops at Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Yelahanka, Dharmavaram, Mantralayam Road, and Wadi. During the onward journey from Coimbatore, the Train stops at Mantralayam Road station for 5 hours to facilitate worship at the Mantralayam Temple.

South Star Rail is the Private Operator, which got its hands on the wheels to run the train. It paid INR 10 million as security deposit to Southern Railways for a 20 coach rake, consisting of First, Second, and Third Class air-conditioned coaches, normal Sleeper coaches, two luggage-cum-brake cars and one pantry car.

Over to a scheme-filled India. Take the ride and pray!

Skipping Sipping Tea in Pakistan

Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves are falling rapidly – currently enough for fewer than two months of all imports – and one of its senior Ministers Ahsan Iqbal came up with a drinking idea.

People in Pakistan have been asked to reduce the amount of tea they drink to keep the country’s economy afloat. Sipping fewer cups a day would cut Pakistan’s high import bills feels the Minister. He said, “I appeal to the nation to cut down the consumption of tea by one to two cups because we import tea on loan”. He also suggested that Business traders should close their market stalls at 10.30 pm to save electricity.

Pakistan is the world’s largest importer of tea, buying more than USD 600 million worth last year. Now its lips are trying to skip many a sip!

An Extra Day Off in Sri Lanka

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is giving government officials an extra day off a week, to encourage them to grow food, amid fears of a food shortage, as it navigates its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years. The Island Nation has about one million public sector employees.

The decision is to help workers, who are facing difficulties getting to work due to fuel shortages. Also to encourage them to grow fruit and vegetables, to help feed themselves and their families by engaging in agricultural activities in the backyards of their houses, or elsewhere. This is seen as a possible solution to the food shortage that is expected to occur in the future. Ultimately, I reckon, it’s best we fend for ourselves: generate our own solar power, grown our own food, or make our own things, and return to the days of bartering – in kind.

How to Murder Your Husband

Many years ago, Nancy Crampton Brophy, 71, a self-publishing author whose works of steamy romance and suspense novels such as ‘The Wrong Husband’ and ‘The Wrong Lover’ wrote an essay titled ‘How to murder your husband’. Well, she took herself seriously, did just that and was convicted of murdering her husband last month.

This week a jury found her guilty of second degree murder when that she shot her husband of 26 years, in 2018 for a USD 1.5 million Life insurance pay-out. She was sentenced to life in prison.

Her late husband, Daniel Brophy, was a chef and respected teacher at the Oregon Culinary Institute, Oregon State, United States. He was found dead – shot twice- in the kitchen of the Institute, in 2018.

The Wrong Wife; How to Break Out of Prison?

More tizzy stories about world schemes coming up in the weeks ahead. Don’t shoot, live in peace with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-23

About: the world this week, 5 June to 11 June 2022, the American phenomenon, an unjust war rambles on, a debt ridden country thinks loans, faith matters and blasphemy, military justice, road-building, getting high, and sologamy.

Everywhere

Sometimes, a week sounds all too familiar, eerily similar to the previous one, at least in a few aspects. Maybe this is one such.

The United States of America (USA) continues with that unique American Phenomenon of shooting itself. And we have lost count of the shootings, the guns, the ammunition, the candles, and the songs.

Late last week, a man shot and killed two women in a Church Parking Lot near the City of Ames, Iowa, before turning the gun on himself. This was close on the heels of the Uvalde Elementary School shooting in Texas. There was at least 11 mass shootings over the first weekend in June this year, some of which are: Tulsa, Oklahoma-Warren Clinic Shooting; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Chattanooga, Tennessee. Leaving Schools, the shootings permeated graduation parties, nightclubs, and strip malls. What next?

A mass shooting is an incident in which four or more people are shot or killed, excluding the shooter. According to the Gun Violence Archives on mass shootings, 246 shootings have been reported thus far in this year, 2022. The USA recorded 693 mass shootings in 2021, 611 in 2020, and 417 incidents in 2019.

That’s definitely a fearful rising trend. Does statistics help? Will the shootings stop only when America runs out of ammunition?

The Ukraine war continues taking its own flight path and the World has seemingly gone into a shell with each country looking to strengthen its own walled boundaries and become self-sufficient, knocking globalisation hard on its head. Dependence on Russian oil & gas, among other things, across borders has woken us up to new realities, new risks, which need to be mitigated.

The fate of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region may be decided in the battle of Severodonetsk where fighting continues to be tough. Ukraine is suffering losses, but is also inflicting heavy casualties on the Russians. And Ukrainian forces have been pushed back from the city and control only its outskirts.

Russia refuses to call the Russia-Ukraine War a war or an invasion, still calling it a special military operation-a ‘war’ against Ukraine nationalists, radicals, and the Kyiv Regime. Nevermind they are doing this inside another independent democratic country, which integrity and boundaries Russia itself agreed to respect when Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal! Calling a spade a spade seems to be awfully difficult for Russia.

Meanwhile, The United Nations wants to find a deal with Russia that allows safe export of Ukrainian produced food through the Black Sea. And we have a fighting Sri Lanka, on stand-by, which can use all that food?

The decibel level of noises of economic ruin in Sri Lanka have come down and perhaps the only way Sri Lanka can rise again and recalibrate the life of its citizens is by the existing loans being written off, so that a fresh, handsome set can kick-in.

The 22 million Sri Lankan population requires USD 3.3 billion for fuel imports, USD 900 million(m) for food, USD 600m for fertiliser, and USD 250m for cooking gas. How do you cook all that money?

Sri Lanka accepted a USD 55m loan for fertilisers from India’s Exim Bank, and the United Nations has pledged USD 48m for food agriculture, and healthcare. Negotiations are on to renegotiate a USD 1.5 billion financial support deal from China.

Internally, Sri Lanka announced an immediate increase in Value Added Tax from 8% to 12%. Corporate tax is expected to rise from 24% to 30% this October.

Finally the mistakes of the past seem to be getting corrected.

In India, during a loud Television Debate about a month ago, ruling Party spokespersons, infuriated by incessant attacks on Hindu religious beliefs spoke that, since people are mocking the Hindu faith repeatedly, they can also mock other religions – referring to Islamic beliefs and also the marriage of Prophet Mohammad. And set off-a chain reaction with Muslim countries all over the world voicing concerns of ‘insult to the Prophet’. The Government stepped in a fire-fighting mode by reprimanding and suspending the spokespersons.

I recall a historic verdict by the Madras High Court in 2019, which clearly distinguished between Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression saying, ‘having an opinion on Prophet Mohammad is not derogatory, and Freedom of Expression is not blasphemy’. This was in the backdrop of allegations against a Political leader in Tamilnadu in 2019, for supposedly speaking against the Prophet.

Blasphemy-making reckless and derogatory remarks agent religious beliefs- is one thing and expressing religious opinion based on one’s knowledge of the subject is another and there is a fine balance between the two. Freedom of expression always gets challenged when touching upon religious beliefs. Not every expression will qualify itself to bring disharmony between various sects, groups, and religions.

Narrow-mindedness only seems to be growing more narrow instead of tolerance growing taller and wider.

The religious freedom in India is beyond imagination applying the muslim standards in other Countries. And this is so, for all other religions in India. Hinduism, being the majority religion seems to be taken for granted in the name of minority appeasement.

I think we need to watch our tongues and refrain from making fun, criticising, or mocking any religious faith, including our own. Remember the three monkeys parable: see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil! And someone said, ‘Your freedom ends where my nose begins’.

In Myanmar the elected government was ousted more than a year ago by its military, which ever since has unleashed waves of brutal crackdown on the opposition, democracy and freedom activists, and critics.

Late last week, Myanmar’s junta made its next move, announcing that that appeals by two prominent democracy activists against their death sentences has been rejected, paving the way for the country’s first executions in decades.

Kyaw Min Yu, a veteran democracy activist, and Phyo Zeyar Thaw, a lawmaker for the former ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party, were sentenced to death by a military tribunal in January on charges of treason and terrorism.

The outcry from a watching world is deafening but then who will bell the cat?

Melange

This week, on a completely different front- actually a road- India has created a Guinness World Record by constructing 75 km of continuous bituminous concrete in a single lane on National Highway (NH) 53 in 105 hours and 33 minutes breaking the world record previously held by Qatar.

This Week Thailand became the first country in South Air to decriminalise marijuana: It’s legal to grow and sell it. However, smoking for fun is still banned.

People can now grow marijuana at home, provided they register and ensure it’s used only for medical purposes. Restaurants and cafes can also serve cannabis-infused foods but have a 0.2% THC limit. THC-TetraHydroCannabinol-is the substance that is primarily responsible for the effects of marijuana on a person’s mental state.

The objective seems to be to boost the economy through agriculture and foreign trade. Call that kicking-up the spirits!

Please Yourself

Over the past few years Sologamy, a wedding ceremony where people marry themselves, has been a growing trend in the West. It has now touched India’s Vadodara City in Gujarat State.

Kshama Bindu, 24, a sociology student and blogger, has a traditional Hindu ceremony due to take place on 11th June. Decked up in her red bridal outfit, with henna on her hands and vermilion powder in her hair parting, the bride will do the customary seven rounds around the sacred fire.

Pre-wedding rituals such as Haldi – turmeric mixed with oil is applied on the bride- and sangeet -music & dance-will be held earlier in the day. After the wedding, she plans to visit Goa for a two-week honeymoon.

The only ‘non-essential/missing part’ from all the celebrations will be ‘a Bridegroom’, as Bindu plans to ‘marry’ herself in what is perhaps going to be India’s first case of sologamy.

“Many people tell me I’m a great catch. I tell them, I caught myself”, says Bindu. By marrying herself, Bindu would be dedicating her life to self-love. “It’s my way of showing that I’m accepting all the different parts of me, especially the parts of myself that I have tried to deny or disown such as my weaknesses – be they physical, mental or emotional. For me, this marriage is really a deep act of self-acceptance. What I’m trying to say is that I accept myself – all of me, even the parts that don’t look pretty.”

Bindu’s family signalled the green light, have given their blessings, and will be attending the ceremony along with her friends. She claims that her parents, who are very open-minded, took it in their stride. They said, “As long as it makes you happy, we’re fine with it”.

The idea of marrying oneself first made news about 20 years ago when Carrie Bradshaw, a character in the hugely popular American Comedy Drama series Sex and the City, raised it.

Since then, there have been hundreds of such marriages, mostly by single women. Brides have walked down the aisle dressed in pristine wedding gowns, carrying a bouquet, sometimes with families and friends cheering them on. And in one highly unusual case, a Brazilian model, 33, ‘divorced’ herself, three months after her marrying herself. Wonder which part, or was it all of it?

More love stories coming up in the weeks to come. Love yourself, but stay married to World Inthavaaram. And mind that tongue!

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-22

About: the world this week, 29 May to 4 June 2022, music is strained, a celebrity defamation hearing, a plane crash, ruthless fighting, and a Manhattan seaweed.

Everywhere

We Rapped: Moose Wala

This Sunday, 28 years old Moose Wala an Indian singer, rapper, actor, and politician primarily associated with Punjabi music and cinema was shot dead by unidentified attackers while driving near his village in Punjab State. A Canada-based person, Goldy Brar said to belong to the Lawrence Bishnoi Gang, took responsibility for the killing, in a Facebook account. Reasons unknown. The Police are investigating.

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu was born in Moosa Village, Mansa District, Punjab. He studied Electrical Engineering in Ludhiana and after graduation moved to Canada, in 2016. Sidhu began listening to hip-hop music from the Class 6, and learnt music from Ustad Harvinder Bittu in Ludhiana, before starting to rap. He was heavily influenced by American rapper and actor Tupac Shakur, considered one of the most influential rappers of all-time, with more than 75 million records worldwide to his name.

Sidhu started his career writing music for Ninja (Amit Bhalla-Indian playback singer) and then got his singing career going with a duet song titled ‘G Wagon’.

One year after moving to Canada, Sidhu released his first track, ‘So High’, under the name Moose Wala-a tribute to his village-and gained wide attention.

In 2018, he released his debut Album PBX 1, which peaked at No. 66 on the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart. Following the Album’s success, he started releasing his songs independently. His 2019 single ’47’ was ranked on the UK Singles Chart. In 2020, Moose Wala was named by The Guardian among 50 ‘up and coming artists’. Ten of his songs have peaked on UK Asian Chart with two of them topping. His song ‘Bambiha Bole’ was among the top five on Global You Tube music chart. In 2021, he released Moosetape, tracks from which charted globally including Canadian Hot 100, UK Asian, and New Zealand Hot charts. I’m breathless, that’s an awesome Chart line-up!

Since then, he has released three albums and more than 60 singles. At one time-the story goes-he was churning out a song a week. And became a household name in Punjab and among Sikhs living abroad. In a career spanning just four years, the rapper had become one of the most ubiquitous faces of Punjab’s fertile hip-hop scene. His voice blares from DJ turntables at Delhi’s flamboyant parties, rickety stereos at tea stalls in rural India and every possible radio channel in Punjab. His very distinctive rapping style enthralled and captured the nuances of life in Punjab.

Drawing heavily from the genre of gangster rap, his music was a jumble of gritty opulence showing-off guns and fancy sports cars, as he tried to make sense of life around him. His songs offered unvarnished commentary on the dark underbelly of the rural heartland, where drugs, crime, and corruption often make headlines.

Rap music is a genre that often has lyrical expressions of revenge. And Moose Wala was no exception to this trend. Jealousy of his rivals was also an overarching theme in his music, which was best captured in the smash hit, Jatt da Mukabla: ‘Don’t flutter so high, you birds, for if I want, I can buy the sky.’

Moose Wala had his brushes with the Law. In May 2020, he was booked for firing an AK-47 rifle at a shooting range during the Covid19 Lockdown. He also had a police case against him for seemingly promoting violence and gun culture through his song, ‘Sanju’. Though never convicted, he was accused of trying to normalise violence.

In politics, Moose Wala was a member of India’s Grand Old Party, The Indian National Congress, and unsuccessfully contested in the 2022 Punjab Assembly Elections, from Mansa.

Unbelievable that Moose Wala had bewitched so many people in such a short period. Wonder who (all) got jealous?

We Sang: KK

This week, Indian Music suffered another hit. Singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, aged 53 years, popularly known as ‘KK’ died of a cardiac arrest hours after performing in a concert at Nazrul Mancha for Gurudas College’s Fest in Kolkatta, after which he fell ill and returned to his hotel. When his condition deteriorated, he was rushed to the hospital where the doctors declared him dead on arrival.

KK sang hundreds of songs during his career which began in the 1990s with advertisement jingles. He made his film debut with an A R Rahman soundtrack called ‘Kallooori Salai’ (College Road) in the Tamil movie, Kadhal Desam.

In 1999, he launched his debut album titled ‘Pal’. The songs ‘Pal’ and ‘Yaaron’ from the album became very popular and are commonly used in school farewells.

His biggest hits and most popular Hindi songs include, Tadap Tadap from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Dola Re Dola from Devdas (2002), the Tamil song, Apadi Podu, from Ghilli (2004), Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai from Woh Lamhe …(2006), Aankhon Mein Teri from Om Shanti Om (2007), Khuda Jane from Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), Piya Aaye Na from Aashiqui 2 (2013), Mat Aazma Re from Murder 3 (2013), India Wale from Happy New Year (2014), Tu Jo Mila from Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015).

KK’s other famous songs were, ‘Annanoda Pattu’ (elder brother’s song) in superstar Rajinikanth’s Chandramukhi. And by far, his most popular song in Tamil is Uyirin Uyire in the movie Kaakha Kaakha.

The romance of his songs had strings tied to his real life too. KK fell in love when he was in Class 10 and decided he would marry the girl who stole his heart: he proposed to Jyothy Krishna and eventually married her in 1999 when he was on a firm footing in his career. When asked, wasn’t it too early in life to propose, a confident KK said, “It is not about too early, when you feel something here (gesturing towards his heart), just say it.”

KK is survived by his wife, Jyothy Krishna, and his two children, Nakul Krishna Kunnath and Tamara Kunnath.

Wordsworth floods through that inward eye: ‘The music is my heart I bore long after it was no more’.

We Crashed

This Sunday, a Tara Air plane, with 22 people onboard crashed in Nepal. The plane was on a 20 minute flight when it lost contact with air traffic control, five minutes before it was due to land. The plane, made by the Canadian Aircraft firm, de Havilland, had departed from the tourist town of Pokhara early on Sunday, bound for Jomsom a popular pilgrimage site, and never made it.

Four Indians, two Germans and sixteen Nepali passengers were on board the plane. Search teams first located the crash site, one day after the crash. The remains of all 22 people onboard have been found since, after being awfully frustrated by bad weather and the treacherous mountainous terrain.

The four Indian nationals were identified as a family of two divorced parents and their two children, who were travelling together on a family vacation. They hailed from the city of Thane in Maharashtra State. Post-divorce, the family had been spending 10 days together, as per the court order, during which time they go for holidays, every year. Little did they know this would be their last.

“We are sitting on the plane. We will call you when we reach there”. Those were the last words of one of the parents.

Nepal has had a record fraught with aviation accidents, partly due to its finicky weather changes and airstrips located in hard-to-access rocky terrains. Insufficient training and shoddy maintenance have also plagued its air safety record, prompting the European Union (EU) to ban the flights of all Nepalese airlines in its airspace.

In early 2018, a US-Bangla flight carrying 71 people from Dhaka in Bangladesh caught fire as it landed in Kathmandu, killing 51 people.

More recently, three people died in a plane crash in April 2019 when the aircraft veered off the runway and hit a stationary helicopter at Lukla Airport – considered one of the most tricky runways to navigate due to its strong winds and high altitude of 2845 metres.

Nepal has a mountain of work to do, to ensure flight safety. Here’s hoping this is the last such disaster.

We Stopped at Amber, and Heard

In a blockbuster case that was running live on United States (US) Television for the past six weeks, Jurors in the US state of Virginia found that Actor Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean sequels) and Actress Amber Heard (Rum Diary, Pineapple Express) both defamed each other in public statements following their divorce.

Depp actually won his defamation trial against Heard, and Heard lost most of her countersuit, in a stunning finish to the celebrity trial that has riveted America.

Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for defamation because of an Op-Ed she published in The Washington Post in 2018. In the Op-Ed, headlined, “I spoke up against sexual violence-and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change,” Heard never mentions Depp, but she refers to herself as ‘a public figure representing domestic abuse.’ Depp said the article sullied his reputation, and thwarted his career.

Depp, 58, won all three of the claims he had made and was awarded USD 10.4 million in damages. Heard, 36, who had counter-sued for USD 100 million won only one of her three claims against Depp and was awarded USD 2 million.

In its verdict, the seven-member panel said Heard had defamed her ex-husband with false statements about their relationship. They also said the statements were made with actual malice, i.e., with reckless disregard or negligence.

Last heard, Amber Heard was ‘disappointed beyond words’ and ‘heartbroken’ by the verdict.

Depp has been nominated for three Oscars and been named People’s Sexiest Man Alive, twice. And Heard was not much heard of during the time Depp was at the peak of his popularity.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard got engaged in 2014 and married in 2015. Then, in 2016, Heard filed for divorce. Do marriages ever run green in Hollywood? It’s amber or red!

We are Still Fighting Russia

This Friday marks the 100th day of war in Ukraine, and Russia is closing-in on the city of Severodonetsk. Russia now occupies almost of Luhansk and neighbouring Donetsk. And in total, about 20% of Ukraine. The Donbas region is almost entirely destroyed and the destruction in Ukraine defies comprehension. Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin is banking on the world’s indifference to see him through this horrific disaster he created in the first place. And maybe is looking for an opportunity to declare some kind of a victory?

We are Australia

One keeps finding the weirdest things in Australia: be it animal or plant life – on land or under the sea.

The largest known plant on Earth, a seagrass (ribbon weed) roughly three times the size of Manhattan (about 59 sq.km) has been discovered off the coast of Australia.

Scientists have determined that a large underwater meadow in Western Australia is in fact one plant, believed to have spread from a single seed over at least 4500 years. The seagrass covers 200 square kilometres in Shark Bay, about 800 kilometres north of Perth.

The seagrass was discovered to be growing at the rate of 35 centimetres per year. Remarkable for its hardiness having grown in locations across the Bay with widely varying conditions.

More grown stories will be measured in the weeks to come. Rap and sing with World Inthavaaram.

This is my Blog where I essay stories on life about and around me, on subjects that stir and shake me up, as I turn, and make life's pages count: hoping to inspire you to live your own story!

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